On November 4, 2008, Barack Obama was the first African American to be elected President of the United States. Some see it as the beginning of a new millennium. Is it really?
It was certainly a huge satisfaction for civil-rights activists, who have fought for that to happen ever since. The initial optimism has faded now though. The retiring government lead the country into two wars, left behind the biggest economic crisis since the last depression and probably divided the world into the same old patterns like during Cold War. Let's hope January 20 changes the momentum again. Hope and change, that's what has overshadowed Obama during his long campaign. He promised change and he electrified people around the world like no other presidential candidate before.
But can he really change everything to the better? In eight years one can destroy a lot. And it will take huge efforts to fix the mess in just four or eight years. Maybe he will never achieve that. After all, we don't know exactly who he is that Americans elected for President last November. I hope we will soon find out. But I'm hopeful that his charisma and ability to talk to people on eye level can bring Americans back together and countries to listen again. I think that would be the biggest change.
On Tuesday, a new era will begin for sure, whether he achieves all the changes he promised or not. It may not be the start to a new millennium, but possibly to a new decade. At least, that's to hope for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
I agree about Obama, the bubble is bound to burst. But he has a symbolic value we can't underestimate. He is the first black president, and this fact alone can set things in motion which wouldn't have happened if he had been white. Suddenly, a whole new population group has a voice and involve themselves in political decisions. Either way; it is a step away from Bush and that's a good thing, although this far Obama seems as though he'll continue basically in the same track as Bush did when it comes to f ex the war in Afghanistan and other conflicts the US involve themselves in.
ReplyDelete